A survey of rail customers published today reveals growing levels of dissatisfaction among passengers.

The survey by Passenger Focus, an independent consumer watchdog, indicates that only 40 per cent of rail users are satisfied with the service provided in their region.

Regional operator Northern Rail is described in the report's findings as one of several operators around the country whose service has worsened.

When questioned 42 per cent of users said the way delays to the service were dealt with was poor; 38 per cent said that the facilities and services in general were poor, while another 37 per cent said that lack of adequate car parking was a major issue.

There were positives however with large numbers of people saying they were satisfied with the punctuality, frequency, duration and time-tabling of services.

Passenger Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: "The train operators with the biggest drops in passenger satisfaction need to listen to their passengers and take action. We hope that this decrease is a dip and not the beginning of a trend."

Aire Valley Rail Users' Group spokesman Tim Calow said that while issues did exist, the overall performance of Northern Rail had been good.

He said: "Broadly speaking, the service has been running pretty well. There are some issues, such as overcrowding due to increased passenger numbers. Car parking is also a major issue all along the line.

"But in terms of the service itself I would say it is a success story but greater investment is required.

"There have been a few incidents of disruption recently and we had discussions with Northern Rail about how these could have been handled differently."

Northern Rail's managing director Heidi Mottram said: "Following the number of positive steps we have taken we are disappointed and concerned with our latest results in the National Passenger Survey.

"We will be working closely with Passenger Focus to understand why passenger satisfaction with the services we provide appears to have decreased and ensure we implement robust procedures to address these issues."

She said that the firm was working to increase the number of seats and modernise its trains. She added that punctuality was improving all the time.